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April 11, 2015

Managing Social Media as a Human Services Professional

Counselors and other human service professionals that deal
with confidential information have an obligation to ensure the privacy of the
individuals that use their services. The internet has especially presented
another challenge for mental health professionals. Clients and patients can use
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media to communicate
outside of the professional setting. It’s only natural to develop a friendly
but professional relationship with some clients. However, the introduction of
social media can make for a very awkward situation.

As a counselor or therapist, what do you do when you get a
friend request from a client? Do you accept it? Do you decline it? How do you
address it the next time you see the client in person? What if the client is
offended if they are declined? These are some of the questions you have to ask
yourself as a professional in this new age of technology.

1. Follow Agency
Policy- If the agency policy states that you can’t be connected to clients on
social networks, then the answer is easy. However, most agencies don’t have a
specific written policy on this since it’s a relatively new issue in the
workplace.

2. Set Social
Networks to Private- It’s a good idea to set any social networks to a
private setting if there is a concern about personal boundaries. The problem is
trying to private on a “social” network. It’s pretty much impossible since
everything on the internet has the potential to be exposed to the public.

3. Have Public and Private
Social Networks- If you want to put in the work you can have both public
and private networks. I know some people who have a public Facebook page and a
private page for just family and close friends.
You have to ask yourself is it worth the work to manage multiple social
network pages. Unless you want managing
social networks to be your part-time job, I would reconsider this option.

4. Use Good Judgment-Sometimes just good old common sense is the best option.
Do you mind having a client seeing pictures of your children and other personal
information? The nature of your job may play a role in how you answer that
question. However, most human service
jobs involve working with clients and families who have some kind of personal
issues whether it’s mental, physical, developmental, financial or all of the
above. Connecting with them through social media may expose details about their
lives that were not intended to be public. This could compromise the privacy of
protected health information, which could land you in trouble regardless of
your agency’s policy on social media.

5. Just Say No- The safest option is just to
say no and decline all requests from any clients you serve or work with
professionally. The clear boundary leaves no doubt and eliminates any
questions. This protects both you and the client.

The other side to consider is discussing work related
comments on social media. We’ve all had a bad day at work and would just like
to vent to the world. A bad session with a client, a day full of crisis, or an irate
phone call from a parent can make even the coolest clinician feel a little
frustrated. However, social media is not the place to discuss work frustration.
Making work related comments or posting pictures without permission could be cause
for automatic termination. Even indirect comments could land you in trouble. If
you’re having work related problems, it’s best to discuss this with a
supervisor and stay off the social media.